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Cordova to Capacitor migration

Move your Cordova app to Capacitor without rewriting it

Keep your web code and replace the native shell. Use free Capgo plugins for what your Cordova plugins did, ship with Capgo Build and live updates, and bring in our team if you want the migration done for you.

Capgo plugins are free and open source under MPL-2.0

Why teams move

The web code is fine. The Cordova layer slows you down.

Most Cordova apps keep their UI and logic. The work is in plugins, native config, and the release process.

Plugins stop getting updates

Many Cordova plugins are no longer maintained. When a new iOS or Android SDK breaks one, your team forks it and carries the patch.

Native projects are generated

Cordova rebuilds platforms/ from config.xml and hooks, so manual native edits are easy to lose. Capacitor keeps real ios/ and android/ projects in your repo that you open in Xcode and Android Studio.

New device features need new plugins

Passkeys, biometrics, in-app purchases, and background location all need a maintained native plugin. On Capacitor you can choose from official plugins and Capgo plugins.

Every fix waits on store review

Without live updates, a one-line JavaScript fix needs a new binary. Store review is often 24–48 hours, sometimes much longer, and users still have to update.

What Capgo gives Cordova teams

Plugins, builds, and live updates for the new stack

Use only what you need. The plugins are free, the platform has a 14-day trial, and our team can run the migration.

Free replacement plugins

Capgo maintains Capacitor plugins for biometrics, social login, SQLite, in-app purchases, in-app browser, background location, and more. They are open source under MPL-2.0.

Browse Capgo plugins

Priority plugin fixes

On any Capgo plan, your plugin bug reports and feature requests are handled first by the team that maintains the plugins.

See plans

Live updates while still on Cordova

@capgo/cordova-updater brings Capgo live updates to Cordova iOS 7+ and Android 13+. After the move, keep the same Capgo app ID and channels and switch to the Capacitor plugin.

Cordova updater guide

Cloud builds for iOS and Android

Capgo Build compiles and signs your new Capacitor projects in the cloud and can send them to the stores. A typical native build takes 2–3 minutes.

Capgo Build guide

Native compatibility checks

When you upload a bundle, Capgo compares the native plugins in your project with the bundle live on the channel and tells you when a change needs a new store build.

Live update compatibility

Automatic rollback

Call notifyAppReady() when your app starts. If a new bundle does not call it within 10 seconds, the device goes back to the last working version.

How notifyAppReady works

Migration run by our team

We run Cordova to Capacitor migrations as fixed-price projects. You get a proposal with scope and timeline after a free discovery call.

Migration consulting

Premium Support after launch

Direct access to Capacitor engineers for native crashes, build failures, store rejections, and plugin conflicts.

Premium Support

Keep your web app. Replace the native shell.

The migration changes the native layer and the release process. Your product stays the same for your users.

What stays
  • Your UI, routes, and web framework
  • Your JS/TS code and state management
  • Your backend, APIs, and analytics
  • Your app ID and store listings
What changes
  • ios/ and android/ projects committed to your repo
  • config.xml settings moved to capacitor.config and native files
  • Cordova plugins replaced, or kept where compatible
  • Build, signing, and release setup
Fix web bugs after launch

Once you are on Capacitor, ship JavaScript, HTML, and CSS fixes as live updates. Native changes still go through the stores.

Capacitor updater setup
Roll out updates in steps

Send a live update to a test channel first, then to a percentage of production devices. Widen the rollout or roll back from the CLI.

Progressive rollouts

How it works

How Cordova teams move to Capacitor with Capgo

The same four steps apply whether you do it yourself, hand it to an AI agent, or have our team run it.

  1. List your plugins and native config

    Export your plugin list and platforms. Note config.xml preferences, plugin variables, hooks, and any manual edits in platforms/. This is your migration input.

    cordova plugin list
cordova platform ls
    Step-by-step migration guide

  2. Add Capacitor next to your web build

    Install Capacitor, set webDir to your build output folder, and add the iOS and Android projects. Your built web app is copied into both.

    bun add @capacitor/core @capacitor/cli
bun add @capacitor/ios @capacitor/android
bunx cap init
bunx cap add ios
bunx cap add android

  3. Replace your Cordova plugins

    Map each plugin to an official Capacitor plugin or a Capgo plugin. Capacitor can run many Cordova plugins, but maintained replacements are safer for login, payments, and storage.

    bun add @capgo/capacitor-native-biometric
bun add @capgo/capacitor-social-login
bunx cap sync
    Browse Capgo plugins

  4. Build, release, then update live

    Build and sign with Capgo Build and ship a store update with the same app ID, so it installs over the Cordova version. After that, ship web-layer fixes as live updates.

    npx @capgo/cli@latest build init
npx @capgo/cli@latest build request --platform ios
# after the store release, for web-layer fixes
npx @capgo/cli@latest bundle upload --channel production
    Capgo Build guide

Done for you

What our team hands over

  • Capacitor iOS and Android projects in your repo that build in Xcode and Android Studio
  • A plugin map: each Cordova plugin replaced, kept, or rebuilt, with the reason
  • config.xml settings, permissions, and deep links moved into the native projects
  • A tested migration branch and release checklist, including the upgrade from your current store version
  • A build and release setup, in your own CI or with Capgo Build
  • Code, plugins, and docs assigned to your company on delivery

Scope and timeline come in a fixed-price proposal after a free discovery call. If you need a plugin that does not exist yet, we can build it.

Migration consulting

Prefer to do it yourself?

Follow the step-by-step guide with the free Capgo plugins, or let an AI coding agent run the steps with Capgo skills and a plugin map.

Read the migration guide Use the AI migration guide

Solutions by Team Type

Find the solution that matches your team's needs

AI Migration Guide (2026)

Prompts, Capgo skills, and a plugin map for AI coding agents.

Enterprise

Multi-app, multi-team deployments

Startups

Ship fast without the overhead

Production Updates

Ship fixes to production instantly

Apps built with Capacitor

Capacitor runs large public apps

These apps are built with Capacitor: web code in a native iOS and Android shell, the same model your Cordova app moves to.

Resultados app icon Tools

Resultados

Election results app from Brazil's Superior Electoral Court.

Google Play installs
15.0M
Store rating
2.8
Windy.com - Weather Forecast app icon WEATHER

Windy.com - Weather Forecast

Weather forecast app with maps, radar layers, and alerts.

Google Play installs
32.9M
Store rating
4.7
BURGER KING® app icon APPLICATION

BURGER KING®

Burger King Germany app with offers and a restaurant finder.

Google Play installs
14.3M
Store rating
3.9

Customer proof

What teams shipping with Capgo say

5.0/5 rated by developer teams 9,400+ teams Read reviews
Portrait of Mikołaj Wilczek

Mikołaj Wilczek

Principal Mobile Platform Engineer, Tellent

“We originally discovered Capgo through its plugins, and that turned out to be a great entry point into a much more efficient release process for our team.”

Portrait of Sergiu S

Sergiu S

Lead Developer, drivolino GmbH

“The Capgo Capacitor Updater plugin completely transformed how we ship updates. What used to take days now takes just minutes.”

Portrait of Michael Haberler

Michael Haberler

nethead emeritors

“Great job on the updater plugin. It works flawlessly for me, and live updates are a super accelerator for quick testing turnaround.”

FAQ

Cordova to Capacitor questions

What teams ask before they start a migration.

Do we have to rewrite the app?

No. Your UI and business logic stay. The work is in the native projects, plugins, config, and build setup. Most code changes are in the places where you call a plugin API.

Step-by-step migration guide

Can we keep our Cordova plugins?

Capacitor can run many Cordova plugins, so you can keep some while you migrate. For login, payments, storage, and other critical paths, use a maintained Capacitor plugin. Capgo plugins are free under MPL-2.0.

Browse Capgo plugins

Can we use Capgo live updates before we migrate?

Yes. @capgo/cordova-updater supports Cordova iOS 7+ and Android 13+ with the same CLI and channels. When you move to Capacitor, keep the Capgo app ID and channels and switch to @capgo/capacitor-updater.

Cordova updater guide

How long does a migration take?

It depends on how many plugins you use and how much custom native code you have. If our team runs it, you get a fixed-price proposal with scope and timeline after a free discovery call.

Migration consulting

What can we ship as a live update after the migration?

Changes to JavaScript, HTML, CSS, and assets. Adding or upgrading a native plugin needs a new store build. When you upload a bundle, Capgo checks native compatibility against the bundle live on the channel.

Live update compatibility

Plan your move off Cordova

Try Capgo live updates and Capgo Build on your app, or book a call to scope a migration with our team.

14-day free trial, no credit card. Capgo plugins are free under MPL-2.0.